Interior Décor and Interior Design: Floor Lamps

It’s no secret that lighting is one of the most important factors in a room – we can’t appreciate any of the other design elements in a space without it! Designers are taught to add several types of lighting to almost every space – general lighting, task lighting and accent lighting. For instance, a dining room may contain recessed lights, a chandelier and wall sconces. This comprehensive use of lighting creates different layers of light in the space.

There are so many different sources of lighting – pendants, chandeliers, table lamps, buffet lamps, hardwired sconces, floor lamps, cove lighting, track lighting and picture lighting. One of the most elusive of these light sources is the floor lamp. Unlike cove lighting, picture lighting or wall sconces, which are often expensive to install after a home has been built, floor lamps are fairly inexpensive. Still, they don’t appear as frequently as recessed lights, chandeliers, pendants, or table lamps do in a home.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of the floor lamp, the first thing that comes to mind is a swooping three-bulb brass lamp arching over a large sofa. If that’s not your idea of a chic lamp, then you are in luck! Floor lamps today come in an array of shapes, sizes and colors. And designers are getting more and more creative than ever with them.

Making your home stand apart from others is one of my many goals in life. So I went floor lamp hunting on the web and here are the results of some of the best uses of floor lamps.

Source: Decoist

Typically you would see table lamps on a sofa table but this designer opted for two tripod floor lamps behind a sofa. The decision to use floor lamps gives the homeowner additional light without obstructing that gorgeous view of the ocean.

Source: Nate Berkus

If space is an issue like in this living room, a floor lamp can come to the rescue. Instead of using a side table and a lamp, celebrity designer Nate Berkus elected to use a floor lamp on one side of the sofa.

Source: Architectural Digest

Instead of obstructing the natural light flooding this space with end tables and table lamps, this designer opted for task lighting in the form of two short floor lamps. Genius!

Source: Decoist

Symmetrical wooden tripod lamps flank the fireplace, creating different but interesting height levels in this living room.

Source: Kelly Boyd

Did you spot it yet? In this great room designed by interior designer Kelly Boyd, the iconic pharmacy floor lamp makes its appearance between the two club chairs. Not to be left behind, the tripod floor lamp looks amazing beside the fireplace.

As we can see floor lamps aren’t just cool structural pieces, but they can really save the day when space is an issue in a room.